Full APR surgery 6 months ago - Should I still be on pain relief?

Hi Steve,

When I had my APR surgery I also was on Tramadol and thought nothing of it. In my naivety I thought it was just another name for paracetamol-type painkillers. But after my surgery, which was mid-September, I was home and on the mend and part of that for me was to start reducing the painkillers. I visited my GP when I just didn't seem to be getting any better when I was coming off the Tramadol and was shocked to be told that they are addictive and you need to fool your body off of them. You really must speak to your GP about this. You mention that you got down to just 2 once a day before, so maybe it will be a case of getting to that point again and taking paracetamol later in the day. But please, speak to your GP - the longer this goes on, the harder it will be to come off the Tramadol. I actually get quite angry about this because I don't like taking painkillers unless I really have to, and whilst this is major surgery, I feel I should have been told before being put on Tramadol that they are very hard to wean off of. I'm pretty sure there are other non-additive painkillers available. A few years ago I also found out that Tramadol belong to the group of drugs called 'dollies' - available from most drug-dealers!! I had no idea, but thankful that I did speak to my GP when I did. 

It's not easy coming off the Tramadol, but it is what it is, and it's probably the last thing you do on your recovery.

Hope this helps a wee bit.

Linda :-)

Hi Steve

`i know you asked for advice from people who have had similar surgery and mine was quite minor compared to yours but I thought I’d give you my take on Tramadol.  Being pain free is, as you say, really important and I understand that it can help your body heal.

I was on Tramadol for a little while after my op, I found they really helped, but I never took more than two in a day.  I found one at night really helped me get off to sleep.  I still have a supply and take them as and when I need them.  I also found that they made me very sleepy in the day if I took more than two.

Tramadol is an opiate and  can become addictive, but you have had a a massive amount of surgery and it really takes our bodies a long time to get over any surgery and six months is not a long time for the amount of surgery you have had.

I would speak to your GP or your consultant about your worries with taking them on a regular basis.  A friend of mine, was on a a high dose of Tramadol  and his GP rotated  them month by month with another pain killer - Gabapentin. I know that he had been on them for quite a few years.  

I agree with Linda that we do have to be careful with this type of drug but taken with care it is a very good drug for pain relief.

I also agree that we should be given more information on the type of drugs we are taking so that we can make an informed decision as to whether we take them, and if we do take them, the amount that is safe to take without becoming addicted to them,

We are all different, and post op pain affects us all in different ways.

Take care,

VickiLynne

Thanks Linda, appreciate your thoughts :-)

Thanks VickiLynne - Really appreciate your feedback on this, it's extremely insightful and helpful. :-)